SESRIC presented the OIC Economic Outlook 2025 during the Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) of the 41st Ministerial Session of the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (COMCEC), held on 1 November 2025 in Istanbul.

Mr. Mazhar HUSSAIN, Director of the Research Department at SESRIC, presented the findings of the report, which provides a comprehensive analysis of recent macroeconomic developments, key challenges, and policy opportunities across OIC countries.

In his presentation, Mr. HUSSAIN underlined that economic growth in OIC countries continues to outperform the global average but remains below pre-pandemic levels, signalling a widening growth gap that calls for targeted policy responses and strengthened economic resilience. He stressed that in 2024, the collective economies of OIC countries expanded by around 4%, compared to a global average of just over 3%.

Mr. HUSSAIN further noted that while unemployment rates in OIC countries have remained relatively stable at 5.3%—representing over 43 million people—youth unemployment and gender disparities in the labour market persist as major challenges. He added that inflationary pressures continue to outpace global levels, with consumer prices in OIC economies rising by nearly 9% in 2024, underscoring the need for coordinated macroeconomic measures and social protection policies.

The full report OIC Economic Outlook 2025 is available at: https://sesric.org/publications-detail.php?id=609.